1 The Deal

Somewhere in the Amazon rainforest, a man who appeared to be in his late forties was sitting in a lotus position among the trees, not moving even a muscle while seemed to meditate there.

Although there were still some indigenous tribes in some corners of the forest, it was rare to find a man meditating in such a dangerous place in the 41rd century. Even the most extreme environmentalists would not try to "connect" with the forest in such a place.

"Finally ... It's here"

As the man spoke and opened his eyes to look up at the sky, an incalculable number of black clouds gathered above the man's head, announcing a storm that had not been seen for centuries.

"Finally ... After 2,000 years .... FINALLY!"

As if responding to the man's animated shout, a ray of the thickness of one arm shot out of the clouds and struck the man's head directly.

"HAHAHAHA, MORE, YOU CAN SEND MORE!" As if he had not even felt the thunderbolt that has struck his head, the man would roared to the sky and then did something that would leave any spectator shocked: He flew towards the sky.

The man who was flying and seemed to fight with the sky was called Rafael Pottier, 2,000 years ago he was just a young otaku who liked to spend his time reading Chinese novels about cultivators as well as buying some "suspicious" items online like manuals to cultivate Qi, Pills and even "immortal" weapons.

But perhaps because of luck or destiny, at some point in his life he had managed to buy a true cultivation manual and after centuries of training and walking around the world in search of true herbs and treasures, the man had finally managed to "transcend" his status as a common mortal and face their first Heavenly Tribulation.

After enduring the attack of three more rays with a smile on his face, Raphael saw the clouds above his head disappear as quickly as they emerged and in his place a small black hole that "sucked" the man and and from that moment on, there would be no Raphael Pottier in that world.

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A few moments after being sucked in by the black hole that opened in the heavens, Raphael found himself standing before a completely empty space. But there was not even a shadow of panic in his face as he looked around curiously.

During the years in which he had wandered the world in search of divine treasures and knowledge, he discovered an interesting fact about the cultivators' transcendence: Whenever a cultivator transcended into the heavens, he would have the opportunity to escape the fetters of heavenly laws and their tribulations, making the only law that the cultivator had to follow was the law of equivalent exchange.

But contrary to what most novels suggested, it was not exactly advantageous for a cultivator to get rid of the currents of the celestial law. For while there were clear punishments and difficulties for those who were bound by this law, there were also rewards and incentives for those who accumulated good karma or did something to contribute to the celestial law.

Meanwhile, the law of equivalent exchange did not care if the person was good or evil, of a race or other. But yes if what you offer has value equivalent to what you want.

So each increase in strength and level of cultivation required not only an enormous amount of effort, but also an invaluable amount of resources, not being able to count on luck, destiny or any other external factor.

"Will you follow the law of equivalent exchange or will you choose to remain bound by heavenly law in return for a favor?"

Hearing the voice that sounded in that empty space, Raphael stepped out of his daydreams as an even broader smile came to his lips. In addition to the difficulty of abandoning the heavenly law, another reason why growers rarely change to the law of equivalent exchange is that whenever one transcended to a higher plane, they could make a request for the heavenly law, thus allowing a trace of his will to be realized in that plane.

"I will remain submissive to the heavenly law, but in return ... I desire that my world may once again become a suitable world for cultivation."

"Deal"

As the voice sounded again in that space, agreeing with Raphael's demands, his body turned into particles of light before disappearing from that place.